Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Abroad101, the world’s first and largest website featuring study abroad program reviews, has partnered with IEM Study Abroad to offer its first scholarship contest. The “$10k China Giveaway,” which launches today, will grant three lucky students 10,000 dollars worth of scholarships to IEM’s China program in Shanghai, promoting the mission of President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s “100,000 Strong” initiative.

“Abroad101 is committed to helping as many students as possible study abroad by providing insider program reviews for students and universities alike,” says Michael Stone, President of Abroad101. “Given our mutual efforts to promote meaningful international experiences, we are thrilled to support ‘100,000 Strong’ by partnering with IEM to offer a scholarship to encourage more students to study in China.”

Launched in May 2010 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the “100,000 Strong” initiative is, “a national effort designed to increase dramatically the number and diversify the composition of American students studying in China.”

In a recent statement, Hillary Clinton affirmed, “Today, more than ever, there is a global understanding that no major challenge can be resolved without the active engagement of both the United States and China. That is why President Obama has called upon the nation to build up a cadre of Americans knowledgeable about Chinese history, culture, and language.”

Grammy-award winning musician and producer will.i.am has also become a supporter of this initiative, confirming that, “In order to become responsible global citizens, young people need to experience the world around them. Kids from underserved communities rarely have the opportunity to study and travel abroad, and we want to change that.”

Michael Vu, VP of Programs at IEM Study Abroad, states, “IEM’s Study Abroad participants often refer to their time in China as among the most transformative events of their lives. Whether relaxing at Xing Wei College, touring China’s most historically diverse cities (such as Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi’an and Beijing) or interning in Shanghai with a cosmopolitan corporation, IEM Study Abroad students are deeply immersed in Chinese culture.”

Abroad101 is a popular destination for students to find the perfect study abroad program for their needs. Vu reaffirms that, “Prospective study abroad students already visit Abroad101 to locate exactly the kind of unique and exemplary programs that IEM Study Abroad works so hard to offer – programs that strike a happy balance between flexibility and structure, cultural immersion and cohort participation, adventure and comfort.”

Abroad101 is a review website and online marketplace for the $40B International Education industry. Founded in 2007 by Tufts, Harvard, and MIT graduates, Abroad101’s mission is to promote global citizenship by fostering the most meaningful study abroad experience for all students through technology innovation in higher education. Abroad101 empowers universities with its free market-leading online evaluation tool and provides an advertising and student recruitment platform to global program providers. Abroad101 is a 2010 winner of the MassChallenge global startup competition. To learn more, visit http://www.studyabroad101.com.

About IEM’s China Program:

The IEM Study Abroad China Program presents a blend of East and West unique to the Study Abroad market. Students study at Xing Wei College, where they are able to survey and explore Chinese culture from the structural comfort of a familiar curriculum. At the same time, students participate in the outstanding IEM Peer Mentorship Program. This program intensively pairs each student with a Chinese counterpart who actively introduces that student to the finer points of Chinese culture. IEM Study Abroad has worked hard to ensure that the China experience is one filled with academic challenge, breathtaking excursions, a full schedule of fun activities and memories that will last a lifetime! To learn more, visit http://www.iemstudyabroad.com.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Last week I posted about the various internet properties I own that focus on international education. In that post I mentioned that I plan to highlight one of my sites every few days. To that end, here is the first of several posts in this series.

I don't know about you but I am a big fan of RSS Feeds. I first learned of them several years ago while at the NAFSA Winter Leadership meetings when I was on the NAFSA Teaching, Learning & Scholarship (TLS) knowledge community team. However, I could not figure out how they worked so I missed out on several good years of use. About three years ago I tried again with Google Reader (Google is my preferred tool for my new media activities) and it one of the most valuable tools I use to keep up to date on international education related news and happenings. My Google Reader provides a great opportunity for me to share what I find on the internets with others who may find value in the information/resources.

Friday, August 19, 2011

I own a variety of internet properties that focus on international education and I have a presence on a variety of new/social media sites (beyond Facebook and Twitter). Okay, I don't actually own these sites as I use all free services but they are and have been mine as I have developed, added content and maintained them over the years. They all (or predominately) focus on international education issues and while there is some overlap of content I try to post and feed different information to my various websites and pages.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Frequent IHEC Blog readers know that I like to research and post about the history of international educational exchanges. Recently I came across a set of four videos on the YouTube channel of the Austrian-American Educational Commission (AAEC) that I found incredibly interesting so I thought I would post them here. These very well produced videos make up a forty-five minute documentary directed by Georg Steinböck and based on interviews with generations of Austrian Fulbrighters from the 1950s to the present and with recent U.S. grantees. The documentary also includes historical footage, photos, and archival material.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The following information about the Foreign Policy Association's FPA U program and upcoming seminars is being posted here to IHEC Blog with permission. I recently became aware of these low cost and excellent seminars and I think they may be of interest to IHEC Blog readers so I am posting about them today. I just wish that FPA U expanded here to Chicago so I could attend!

This fall, the Foreign Policy Association’s FPA U program will be coming to New York City, Washington, D.C., and expanding to Boston!

Beginning in October, seminars will be offered on the following topics:

Monday, August 8, 2011

On July 29, 2011 the United States Department of State announced that will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas will direct a concert later this year in Beijing in support of the 100,000 Strong Initiative. Below are two short videos of will.i.am talking about the importance of study abroad and international travel with a focus on inter-city youth experiencing these opportunities.

Now, I'm not a huge Black Eyed Peas fan (my wife and kids are fans so I know a bit about them and their music). However, I am a big fan of their song Where is the Love? from 2003 and if you listen to the song and lyrics (which I believe were created by will.i.am) then you can see that he has always embraced the idea of international/intercultural understanding. Anyways, enjoy the song...

The Global Health & Innovation Conference is the world's largest global health conference and social entrepreneurship conference.This must-attend, thought-leading conference annually convenes 2,200 leaders, changemakers, students, and professionals from all fields of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.Register during August to secure the lowest registration rate.

Interested in presenting at the conference? Submit an abstract for consideration.

The conference's confirmed speakers to date include:

Keynote Addresses

Sasha Dichter, Director of Business Development, Acumen Fund

Seth Goldman, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea

Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; Special Advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon

Peter Bourne, MA, MD, Visiting Fellow, Oxford University; Vice Chancellor Emeritus, St. George's University; Formerly Special Assistant to the President of the United States for Health Issues; Chair, Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC)

"An Inventory of Toxic Hotspots in the Developing World - Over 100 Million Exposed," Richard Fuller, President, Blacksmith Institute

"Farmers First: Scaling a Permanent and Sustainable End To Hunger," Tony Kalm, Director of Business Development, One Acre Fund

Robert Lawrence, MD, The Center for a Livable Future Professor, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Health Policy, and International Health; Director, Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Film, Photography, Art & Global Health Speakers

"Thinking, Sensing, Feeling, Doing: How Art Can Energize Public Health," Carolyn Cannuscio, ScD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, Section on Public Health, University of Pennsylvania

"Potential Over Poverty: The Ethics of Photojournalism & Creating A Modern Narrative of Development," Jonathan Kalan, Photographer, Journalist, Founder, The (BoP) Project

"Frontline Health Workers as the Key to Achieving the Health MDGs," Charles MacCormack, President and CEO, Save The Children

Tricia Morente, Head of Strategy and Marketing, LifeSpring Hospitals

Health Policy Speakers

"Global Health Takes a Normative Turn: The Rise of Human Rights to Address the Health Threats of the 21st Century," Benjamin Mason Meier, JD, LLM, PhD, Assistant Professor of Global Health Policy, Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: New Strategies for Changing the Behaviors of Medical Professionals and Pregnant Women," Paul N. Bloom, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Marketing, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

"Reproductive Refugees:Health Disparities and Diasporic Dreams in Post/911 Arab America," Marcia Inhorn, MPH, PhD, William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs Chair, Council on Middle East Studies

"Adoption of Innovation and the Rate of Decline in Child Mortality," Dean Jamison, Professor, Global Health and Adjunct Professor, Health Services, University of Washington School of Public Health

"The Role of Scientists and Medical Professionals in Helping Pregnant Women Abstain from Drinking Alcohol," Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Duke University Medical Center

"From Donor-Driven to Impact-Driven: How Evidence Can Inform Smarter Global Health Philanthropy," Carol McLaughlin, MD, MPH, MSc, Research Director - Global Public Health, Center for High Impact Philanthropy, School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania

"Solving Meta-Community Issues by Playing Nicely with Others," and "Breaking Thru The Clutter Workshop: How To Market Your Cause and Attract New Champions," Scott Henderson, Principal at CauseShift and Campaign Manager of WeCanEndThis.com

"Disrupting Pathways to Mortality with Technology: Opportunities for Resource-Limited Settings," Alain Labrique, Assistant Professor, Director, Johns Hopkins Bangladesh; Department of International Health and Department of Epidemiology Program in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

International Higher Education Consulting Blog provides timely news and informational pieces, predominately from a U.S. perspective, that are of interest to both the international education and public diplomacy communities. From time to time, International Higher Education Consulting Blog will post thought provoking pieces to challenge readers and to encourage comment and professional dialogue.

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I currently work as the Assistant Provost for Global Education at Columbia College Chicago. Prior to my position at Columbia College, I worked for seventeen years as Associate Director of International Programs at the Booth School of Business, as Senior Adviser
for International Initiatives in The College and as Assistant Director in the
Office of International Affairs, all at The University of Chicago. I also serve as a Study Abroad Research Consultant for the Center for Global Education at California State University at Dominguez Hills. Additionally, I have taught online for The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

I received my B.A. in Spanish and Latin American
Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, my M.S. in
Family Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and my Ph.D. in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies, Comparative and International Education from Loyola University Chicago.

The opinions expressed are my own, and they do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of my employer.